Five Chinese People’s Liberation Army Navy ships are sailing in international waters in the Bering Sea off Alaska, the Pentagon said on Wednesday, in an apparent first for China’s military that came as US President Barack Obama toured the US state.
Pentagon spokesman Captain Jeff Davis said it was the first time the US had seen Chinese navy ships in the Bering Sea.
“We respect the freedom of all nations to operate military vessels in international waters in accordance with international law,” Davis said.
The Chinese Ministry of National Defense, in a short statement yesterday, said the ships were in the Bering Sea as part of a routine drill following the completion of exercises with Russia.
“This is a routine arrangement as part of annual plans, and is not aimed at any set country or goal,” it said, without providing any other details.
The appearance of the ships is an example of the expanding reach of China’s navy and overlapped with a three-day visit by Obama to Alaska as part of his efforts to raise awareness about climate change.
Two US defense officials, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the US had identified a Chinese amphibious ship, a replenishment vessel and three surface combatant ships.
None of the ships had been seen acting in an unprofessional or unlawful manner, the officials said, adding that the US had become aware of their presence in recent days.
White House spokesman Josh Earnest said no threatening activity had been detected, adding that the Pentagon was monitoring the movement of the ships, “but the intent of this is still unclear.”
China has ramped up defense spending to modernize its forces and wants to develop an ocean-going “blue water” navy capable of defending its growing interests as the world’s second-largest economy.
Yesterday, China held a massive military parade featuring about 12,000 troops and new equipment like ballistic missiles capable of taking out aircraft carriers, the highlight of Beijing’s events marking 70 years since World War II ended in Asia.
Dean Cheng, a China expert at the Heritage Foundation think tank in Washington, said the presence of the ships in the Bering Sea was designed to send a message.
“It is living up to what the Chinese have been saying: ‘We are now a blue water navy. We will operate in the far seas and we are a global presence,’” Cheng said.
Melting sea ice has spurred more commercial traffic and China has sought to become more active in the Arctic, where it has said it has important interests.
Shorter shipping routes across the Arctic Ocean would save Chinese companies time and money.
While the world’s two largest economies have important mutual interests, like trying to rein in North Korea’s nuclear program, disagreements exist between them, such as China’s claims in the South China Sea.
Republican US lawmakers on Friday criticized US President Joe Biden’s administration after sanctioned Chinese telecoms equipment giant Huawei unveiled a laptop this week powered by an Intel artificial intelligence (AI) chip. The US placed Huawei on a trade restriction list in 2019 for contravening Iran sanctions, part of a broader effort to hobble Beijing’s technological advances. Placement on the list means the company’s suppliers have to seek a special, difficult-to-obtain license before shipping to it. One such license, issued by then-US president Donald Trump’s administration, has allowed Intel to ship central processors to Huawei for use in laptops since 2020. China hardliners
A top Vietnamese property tycoon was on Thursday sentenced to death in one of the biggest corruption cases in history, with an estimated US$27 billion in damages. A panel of three hand-picked jurors and two judges rejected all defense arguments by Truong My Lan, chair of major developer Van Thinh Phat, who was found guilty of swindling cash from Saigon Commercial Bank (SCB) over a decade. “The defendant’s actions ... eroded people’s trust in the leadership of the [Communist] Party and state,” read the verdict at the trial in Ho Chi Minh City. After the five-week trial, 85 others were also sentenced on
Conjoined twins Lori and George Schappell, who pursued separate careers, interests and relationships during lives that defied medical expectations, died this month in Pennsylvania, funeral home officials said. They were 62. The twins, listed by Guinness World Records as the oldest living conjoined twins, died on April 7 at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, obituaries posted by Leibensperger Funeral Homes of Hamburg said. The cause of death was not detailed. “When we were born, the doctors didn’t think we’d make 30, but we proved them wrong,” Lori said in an interview when they turned 50, the Philadelphia Inquirer reported. The
RAMPAGE: A Palestinian man was left dead after dozens of Israeli settlers searching for a missing 14-year-old boy stormed a village in the Israeli-occupied West Bank US President Joe Biden on Friday said he expected Iran to attack Israel “sooner, rather than later” and warned Tehran not to proceed. Asked by reporters about his message to Iran, Biden simply said: “Don’t,” underscoring Washington’s commitment to defend Israel. “We are devoted to the defense of Israel. We will support Israel. We will help defend Israel and Iran will not succeed,” he said. Biden said he would not divulge secure information, but said his expectation was that an attack could come “sooner, rather than later.” Israel braced on Friday for an attack by Iran or its proxies as warnings grew of